Most of conventional nanostructure evaluation techniques are concerned only to the one which provides limited individual information. A nanostructure itself has been construed by judging synthetically the individual information obtained respectively from a plurality of nanostructure evaluation techniques.
Among these conventional nanostructure evaluation techniques, since a scanning probe microscope system has atomic scale spatial resolution so that spatial information can be obtained, such scanning probe microscope system may be applied also to the observation for a system exhibiting no periodicity. As a result, the scanning probe microscope system has contributed remarkably to the contemporary development of nanoscience.
However, the scanning probe microscope system has involved such a problem that an element cannot be identified.
In view of the above-described problem, a variety of trials for elementary analysis with atomic scale spatial resolution has been proposed from viewpoints of electronic state, vibrational state or electrostatic capacity and the like. However, the actual examples wherein elementary analysis is carried out have been insensibly reported only in respect of the measuring objects and conditions of very limited particular materials. Accordingly, the actual examples have not been as a general technique.
On one hand, a technique wherein X-rays are applied is proposed as a technique for affording elementary selectivity to a scanning probe microscope. The technique is the one wherein X-rays are irradiated on a measurement object to cause inner shell excitation selective for the specified atomic species under observation by means of the scanning probe microscope, whereby the inner shell excitation caused is intended for observation (see the non-patent literary document 1).
However, since the technique wherein X-rays are applied exhibits poor excitation efficiency, it has been pointed out that the remarkable increase in the photon density of incident radiation is desired.
In view of such pointing out, an example wherein synchrotron orbital radiation being a high brilliance light source is applied has been recently reported as a technique for increasing remarkably the photon density of incident radiation (see non-patent literary document 2).
In the techniques disclosed in the above-described non-patent literary documents 1 and 2, since the X-rays having a beam diameter of about φ1 to several mm or so are irradiated to a measurement object, it results in a broad area wherein the irradiation area of X-rays in the measurement object has a diameter of about φ1 to several mm or so. Besides, the techniques are arranged in such that the emission electron from a specified element which has been excited is captured by using the probe of a scanning probe microscope as a collector for the emission electron.
Accordingly, there is such a problem that electrons generated in a wide range are collected in accordance with the techniques disclosed in the non-patent literary documents 1 and 2, so that the spatial resolution stays in an order of 10 μm. Such problem is a principle problem impartible with respect to such conventional technique, so that it is very difficult to obtain atomic scale spatial resolution. In these circumstances, there is no way to establish a technique which is very difficult to achieve, an example of the difficult technique is such that only several nm of the extreme end of the probe of a scanning probe microscope is merely made of a conductor, and the other part thereof is coated with an insulating material in order to elevate spatial resolution for applying such conventional technique as described above.    Non-patent literary document 1: K. Tsuji et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 37, L 1271-1273 (1998)    Non-patent literary document 2: T Matsushima et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum., 75, (2004) 2149